WETUMPKA, Alabama - Shoppers looking to save a buck at a Wetumpka thrift store instead got to see a buck after a baby deer came crashing through the shop's plate glass window.

It was business as usual at Adullam House Thrift Store Saturday morning when, about 9 a.m.,the sound of shattering glass sent shoppers and employees ducking for cover. "One of the employees came running to the back saying we had a deer in the store,'' said Coe Sawyer, one of the store's managers. "Sure enough, there was deer running through knocking everything over."

The deer, a spike estimated at about eight months old, had a bloody nose and was obviously disoriented and frightened. "He didn't have a clue where he was,'' said Sawyer. "I think he saw his reflection in the window and thought it could be another buck and decided to jump through."

One shopper in the store's reading section didn't even know the deer was inside, Sawyer said. Several female customers were quickly ushered out for their safety. "We got them out,'' he said. "If they (deer) are frightened or scared, you don't know what they will do."

Sawyer said the deer was in the store about four minutes before they got their bearings and started trying to catch him. One of the workers grabbed a piece of sporting equipment to try to help corral the animal. It took about 10 minutes to surround him, Sawyer said.

"Three of us carried him out and we let it go,'' he said. "He took off across the road. We hope he's alright, but we couldn't have him the store either."

The Adullam House Thrift Store is a non-profit store that helps fund a home that takes in children whose parents are incarcerated. Sawyer said the deer knocked over a lot of merchandise, and got blood on some clothes. Most of the damage, however, was to the front window and the loss of business for the time they had to close the business for cleanup.

Sawyer said it was a shocking experience. Adullam House Thrift Store is in a busy shopping center right next to a large grocery store. "I've never experienced that before,'' Sawyer said. "It's a story we will tell for a long time."